Who is Moise Kouame, the youngest French Open match winner since 1991?

EXPLAINERWorld no 318’s victory over Marin Cilic also made him the youngest man to claim a Grand Slam victory in 17 years.Roland Garros might have witnessed the birth of a new tennis megastar this week when local teenager Moise Kouame took a historic victory at the French Open to become the youngest man to win a major main-draw match in 17 years.Aged 17 years and two months, Kouame defeated former US Open champion Marin Cilic 7-6(4) 6-2 6-1, raising his arms and throwing his head back as the home crowd on Court Simonne-Mathieu applauded his feat.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4How Senegal became genuine World Cup 2026 contenders – at a costlist 2 of 4UFC fighting cage rises on White House lawn for US and Trump celebrationslist 3 of 4Messi’s GOAT statue in India to be removed over safety concernslist 4 of 4‘Why not us?’: Does the US really have a chance of lifting the World Cup?end of listThe victory made him the youngest male player ⁠to win a singles Grand Slam match since Australia’s Bernard Tomic reached the 2009 Australian Open second round at the age of 16. Kouame is the youngest player to register a first-round win at the French Open since Dinu Pescariu of Romania in 1991.He also became the first teenager to defeat a major champion in his debut Grand Slam main draw match since Marat Safin defeated Andre Agassi at Roland Garros in 1998.Here’s everything to know about the rising teen sensation.What is Moise Kouame’s personal background?Born in 2009 in the Parisian suburb of Sarcelles, Kouame is of Ivorian-Cameroonian descent. His mother, who has “always made a big impact”, was his first coach and now manages his career.Kouame began playing tennis aged six, inspired by his older brother, Michael, and trained at the National Tennis Centre in Poitiers. He is now coached by former world no 7 and fellow countryman Richard Gasquet, with reports suggesting that he added Laurent Raymond to his team earlier this year.What is his playing style?The 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 metres) tall Frenchman has a strong serve and forehand and enjoys playing on every surface, which aligns with his nickname “KTT” – which translates to “Kouame every surface”.Kouame plays a forehand return to Croatia’s Marin Cilic during their men’s singles match on day 3 [Julien de Rosa/AFP]Was the French Open first round his biggest career win?Yes, unless he wins his second-round matchup at Roland Garros against Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo on Thursday.